Dr. Gloria Jean Wade-Gayles dedicated her life to fighting for the rights and enlightenment of others. The author, award-winning educator and a trailblazer in social justice, women’s rights and activism, who died Jan. 27, 2026, in Atlanta at age 88, leaves a legacy of shaping the minds and hearts of generations of women and men.
Wade-Gayles will be remembered for her visionary leadership, passion for scholarship, and her unrelenting fight for freedom and justice, which began in Memphis at LeMoyne-Owen College and continued on through the hallowed halls of several HBCUs all around the country.
A life-long proponent of education, Wade-Gayles was born in Memphis in 1937 and enrolled at LeMoyne-Owen College in 1955, the only college Blacks could attend in Memphis at that time. She demonstrated leadership abilities at the college, serving as president of the school’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and secretary of the Student Council. She was named Ms. LeMoyne-Owen in 1958 and graduated cum laude in 1959, with a bachelor of arts in English. That was just the beginning for Wade-Gayles…